IT’S TANKS!

Bored of playing yet another multiplayer word game? Why not blow tanks up instead? And even better, why not do it for FREE!

IT’S TANKS! continues in the tradition of tank versus tank games of the ‘80s and ‘90s such as the early ‘90s classic Scorched Earth. Compete against friends and strangers in online matches via Game Center to win coins to buy weapons, items, and upgrades. Alternatively, the Pass & Play mode allows you to enjoy IT’S TANKS! on a single device and play the person next to you or just practice your shooting. With fully destructible randomly generated levels, upgradeable weapons and a variety of special items, IT’S TANKS! is an asynchronous multiplayer game for those who prefer the boom of artillery to the click of lettered tiles.

How To Play

Taking a turn in IT”S TANKS! is quick and simple using Angry Birds like controls to fire, making it easy to play on the go. Hover over the dots in the screenshot above to see a description of what the various elements in the game screen do. The standard free version allows you to start up to 10 games at once, so you don’t have to wait for your opponent to take their turn, you can just start another game. Use the replay button (top right) to share your favourite shots via email, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube using the easy to use Everyplay support.

That’s all very well, but how does it actually play? Well, have a look for yourself as Kieran runs through a couple of Pass & Play games:

Weapons

IT’S TANKS! features 10 multi-stage upgradeable weapons, each offering unique tactical choices. All of the weapons except the basic bomb are upgradeable, some offer enhanced features while others just increase the size of the explosion. Here you learn about each weapon type and see it in action.

The basic shot, a single bomb that that blows up a small area. Not the most powerful weapon in the game, but on the other hand, they’re free and you’ve got an infinite amount of them!

The Cluster Bomb splits into little bomblets at the top of its flight path, making it ideal to cover a wide area and increase your chances of a hit. Or if you’re really good, hit your opponent’s Tank with multiple shots to rub it in just how good you are.

If the wind is high, actually hitting you the other tank becomes an entirely different kettle of fish. True tank masters can do it anyway, for everyone else there’s the Windproof Bomb, it flies straight and true no matter what the wind is.

Almost managing to hit your target but just missing? Target hiding just behind a bit of landscape? Then Proximity Bombs are for you! They explode in mid-air when close enough to Crates or Tanks, perfect for when the landscape or barriers block a clean shot.

Can’t quite get your eye in? Shots going short or long? Then try the Tracer Bomb! As well as blowing up your target it drops markers behind it as it flies, leaving a clear path that only you can to help line up your following shots.

Energy Shields absorb the first shot that hits them, protecting the Tank from most weapons unless you hit with multiple shots. Not the Shield Buster though, it will ignore your opponent’s shield allowing you to get them when they’re sure they’re safe.

Eager to fire a storm of flying metal at your foes? The Gatling Cannon fires multiple small bombs around your chosen direction, with higher levels firing up to 9 of them to shred the entire area! It’s expensive, but worth the cost when you’re cackling like a madman at your opponent’s impending doom.

IT’S TANKS! destructible landscapes allow players to get their tanks into positions that are hard to hit. The Bouncing Bomb can bounce into those hard to reach corners. They explode after several bounces or on hitting a Tank or Crate. Be careful, it’s very easy to blow up your own Tank!

When it hits the top of its arc the Parachute Bomb’s chute deploys and it drops to earth to hit anything below it. Higher levels ignore the wind and have bigger explosions, however you may prefer at the lower levels to use the power of the wind and drift sideways into the target.

The Rail Gun is on the cutting edge of Tank weaponry, it uses an electromagnetic launcher to fire bombs straight terrain, only exploding when they’ve reached their max range or they hit a Tank or Crate. They have short range at the lower levels, so upgrade ASAP!

Special Items

There are 11 special items to change the battlefield, protect your tank and perhaps most importantly screw with the other player.

Dueling with Tanks is a dangerous business; a single bomb or explosion can blow up your tank with only a glancing hit. The Energy Shield item helps you last a bit longer in battle with a fancy, glowing shield that will absorb a single hit, letting you concentrate on trying to hit your opponent.

One of the best ways of screwing with your opponent if they’ve got their tank into a great position, Swap lets you switch places with them! Incredibly handy if your Tank feels exposed or your opponent’s gone to the effort of bunkering down in a hole.

They say in Tank Warfare, mobility is key to victory. With IT’S TANKS! this holds true with the random teleports letting you escape from a tricky position by randomly teleporting anywhere on the battlefield. However you could you teleport someone right next to your tank ready to fire!

The rarest teleporting option, these allow you to position either of the Tanks in the game precisely where you want them. This is extremely useful tactically, allowing you to position your tank for optimum defense/offense or deposit your opponent in an exposed or difficult position.

Cloak your tank and hides it from your opponent making it much, much harder for them to hit your tank and letting you do your best Predator impression. Just like the Predator though, massive overkill can still get your Tank so make the best use of your advantage while you can!

The best way of frustrating your opponent, Hack compromises their Tank making them fire a random shot and be disabled for a turn. If you are really unlucky the random shot might end up destroying your Tank, but you can console yourself with the Judgement Day achievement.

Disable Tank takes the brute approach to annoying your opponent, hitting their Tank with an electromagnetic pulse leaving it disabled for multiple turns. While it doesn’t have the fun of using Hack and randomly firing bombs, it’s the thinking players approach to disabling the enemy, as it’s far safer.

Game not going your way? Bombs closing in? Your opponent bunkered up behind shields and barriers? Don’t like the current landscape? Then Reset is your friend, allowing you to reset the level and randomize the scenery and tanks as though you’d just started the game from scratch.

Use Raise Ground to make barriers around your Tank, allowing you to dig-in and build a little bunker to defend your Tank from incoming fire. Paranoid players can even stack the ground and layer it to really fortify their position. This is by far the best defense against straight shots and the Bouncing bomb.

Screen Shots

IT’S TANKS was made because we couldn’t figure out why had no one made an asynchronous Scorched Earth style game? It was something we wanted to play, so we decided to make it ourselves.